1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cleaning of application brushes used in the fingernail and art industries, and more particularly to a cleaning apparatus which provides suspension of the bristles of an application brush in a bristle cleaning solution.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Application brushes are generally composed of an elongated, cylindrical handle, a ferrule crimped on a near end of the handle, and a multiplicity of bristles held in a predetermined pattern by the ferrule. The bristles are held by the ferrule to provide an over-all predetermined shape and tip configuration, ranging, f or example, from a narrow arrangement having a very fine tip to a wide arrangement having a coarse or flattened tip. In either case, the bristles are of high quality, preferably from select animal fur. Accordingly, application brushes are regarded by fingernail technicians and art professionals as prized artistic tools.
Fingernail technicians and art professionals and their clientele depend upon the bristles of application brushes to precisely provide desired artistic renditions. However, no matter how high the quality of the application brush and no matter how high the expertise of the artist or fingernail technician, a client's finished product will look only as good as the present condition of the bristles will allow. This is because when an application brush is used, acrylic is acquired by the bristles, and unless this previously acquired acrylic is fully removed, the ability of the bristles to perform at their best during the next usage is compromised. Therefore, it has been a long standing concern of the fingernail and art industries to provide a reliable modality for cleaning acrylic or other debris from the bristles of application brushes.
A common conventional modality for performing periodic maintenance of the bristles is to gently wipe the bristles, with due care to preserve the bristle shape. For example, the bristles are placed into the fold of a paper towel and then the handle is used to roll the bristles to a point while pulling outwardly from the fold.
However, to thoroughly clean acrylic from the bristles so that a used application brush performs like a new one at its next use, the bristles must be placed for a considered length of time into a bristle cleaning solution. An application brush cleaner holder currently on the market consists of a cup for holding a bristle cleaning solution and at least one handle holder located at the upper rim of the cup. The handle holder has a snap fit receptacle for snappingly receiving the handle so as to suspend the bristles of the application brush into the bristle cleaning solution resident in the cup. This product, while operable, fails to prevent the handle of the application brush from coming into contact with the cleaning solution. This is a significant drawback because if the handle enters into the bristle cleaning solution, surf ace and/or structural deterioration of the handle will quickly set-in due to the chemical activity of the bristle cleaning solution. In this regard, it is absolutely vital that the handle be kept from contact with the bristle cleaning solution.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an application brush cleaning apparatus which prevents the handle of an application brush from contacting a bristle cleaning solution.